RAMTENKI VENKATI Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The sole accused in Sessions Case No. 48 of 1977 on the file of the Sessions Judge, Adilabad is the appellant. He was tried for the murder of his wife. The occurrence is said to have taken place on 24-6.1977 in the field called "Kummari Chenu" near the village Indhani at about 12.00 non. The case rests purely on the circumstantial evidence and the Court below accepted the prosecution case and convicted him under Section 302 I.P:C. and sentenced him to suffer imprisonment for life.

(2.) The prosecution case is as follows: The deceased Bayya was married, to the accused about four years prior to the occurrence, but by that time she did not attain puberty and hence she was not fit for conjugal life. For some time the accused and the deceased lived together but the deceased was sent back to her parents' house which is also in the same village. The marriage of the sister of the accused was fixed up and for that the father of the accused went to P.W. 3 the father of the deceased and requested him to send the deceased to his house. After some persuation she was sent by P.W.3 to the house of the accused. Though the marriage of the sister of accused was over, the deceased was not sent back to her parents' house. On the day of occurrence P.W. 5 saw the accused and the deceased going towards the field -"Kummari Chenu". In the evening only the bullocks returned but the deceased and the accused did not return. P.W. 2 the uncle of the deceased came to know that only the bullocks had returned and the deceased and the accused did not return. He and some others went to the field and found the dead body of the deceased lying with bleeding injuries in the "Kummari Chenu". By then the parents of the accused were there sitting and weeping. P.W. 2 then went to the Police Patel P.W. 1 and reported the matter to him. P.W- 1 also came there along with his Sunkaries, saw the dead body of the deceased, prepared a report Ex. P-1 and went to the police station Asifabad in the next morning, and gave Ex. P-l to P.W.9 to the Sub Inspector. He regirtered the Crime under section 302 I.P.C. and issued express F.I. Rs. On 26-6-1977 the father of the accused approached P.W. 6, a petty shop-keeper, P.W.7 a caste-elder and others to help him in apprehending his son who has committed the crime and who was trying to run away from the place. P.Ws 6 and 7 and others went there and found the accused in his house. They caught him and tied him with a rope and on being questioned be confessed that he had killed bis wife. P.W. 9 the Sub Inspector reached the place of occurrence at about 10.15 a.m. on 25-6-1977, held the inquest and examined P.Ws. 2, 3, during the inquest. He sent the dead body for post-mortem. He went to the Gram Panchayat Office and there he found the accused tied to a post. He noticed some injuries on the accused. He prepared Panchanama, arrested the accused and sent him for remand. He also seized MO. 2 a "Badise" (wood chipper) which was lying near the dead body in the field. The doctor P.W. 8 conducted the postmortem examination. He found 10 contused lacerated wounds and internally he found fracture of the 5th rib. The doctor opined that the death was due to shock and haemorrhage as a result of multiple injuries. He also opined that injury No. 6 is fatal and that the deceased would have died immediately. He also opined that the death of deceased was less than 48 hours. On 27-6 -1977 he examined the accused and found some nail marks and abrasions near the left ear and the cheeks and other places. After completion of the investigation a charge sheet was laid.

(3.) The prosecution relied on the following circumstances:(1) There was bad relationship between the accused and the deceased as spoken to by P Ws. 2, 3 and 4 (2) The accused was last seen in the company of the deceased (evidence of P.W 5). (3) The extra-judicial confession made by the accused as spoken to by P.Ws. 6 and 7.